Dinosaur Footprints Hike

Vernal is a great place to do lots of outdoorsy things.  We really enjoy the outdoors and so do our kids.  They are three very active boys and it's always nice to get out of the house and do something fun.  We've done a couple of hikes this summer, but this one was my favorite.  It's three miles round trip and our kids did very well.  I was a little worried about Landon making it that far, but he basically ran the whole way.  Braden got a little tired and I gave him a piggyback for the last little bit, but overall this was great hike for kids.  The trail is mostly sand and rock, but there was very little incline.  The trail leads to Redfleet Reservoir and  apparently this area was an ancient riverbed and there are a great number of dinosaur relics here.  Once we got to the reservoir the kids ran ahead and started throwing rocks in.  Then I read the sign and it said please do not let your kids throw rocks because there are actual dinosaur footprints in the old rock beds.  So after quickly pulling my kids back we started looking for the footprints.  It was amazing to see.  Several different kinds of dinosaurs left footprints and the sign said it's one of the only places on the earth where we have consecutive footprints in a row rather than just one print.  You could actually see where they walked.  Most of the time the footprints are covered in water, but since we've had drought conditions for the last several years the waterline is very low and a large group of footprints are visible that aren't normally.  It kind of surprised me that they just let people walk right up to them.  The signs told us we could walk out to them, being careful not to step on them or throw other rocks on them.  My kids thought it was great to put their hand next to them and see the size difference.  Pretty fun experience and I would definitely recommend this fun hike to anyone visiting the area.

Climbing the rocks to search for lizards.  You can see Braden pointing to one.  There are a TON of lizards here.

Quite a few fun rock formations to climb with great views of the surrounds Uinta mountains.

Looking for more lizards.

We were all ready to move on, but I couldn't get Landon to let go of the lizards he saw run under this huge rock wall.  It took all my powers of persuasion to finally get him to keep moving.

Stopping for a quick drink.

Handsome boys.

Sometimes running down the trail.  I don't think they ever run out of energy.  How would that be?

Landon held my hand quite a bit.  It was kind of fun because they're growing up so fast.

At one point Dalin and Landon slid down this sand hill and then Dalin started making a sand angel.  They had sand everywhere.

We made it!  Dalin got super tired at the end so I suggested he take his shirt off to cool off.  I'll have to remember that trick because it worked great.

For some reason my camera died and so I didn't get any pictures of the dino footprints.  But then it opened and took one last picture at the end of the trail.  Dang camera never works when I need it to.

Trucks, trucks, trucks!

This has been a theme in our household, but Landon has taken it to extremes.  He can't get enough of cars, tractors, trains, buses, airplanes, and his personal favorite monster trucks.  Everyday he lines up his cars and trucks on my bed, on the couch, on the floor, or the kitchen table.  He drives and drives them.  Over the years we have collected quite a few of them in various shapes and sizes and they get played with more than any other toys in the house, other than maybe Legos. I have to YouTube monster truck shows for Landon to watch.  Boys, boys, boys. 

He HAD to have a picture of his monster truck wheels.

Every night before bed he lines up a bunch of vehicles.  And by a bunch I mean he fills his whole bed and leaves no room for himself, as you can see. 

Here he's shushing me because the cars are going to bed and I'm being too loud.

This particular night I told him he needed to move some of them off the bed because there was no room for him, but he insisted it was ok.

He climbed on and crammed himself in the corner.

See mom?  I have plenty of room.

So silly.  Each night I have to go in after he's asleep and take them all off his bed so he has room.

He's such a good sleeper I can hardly complain :)

Super Diaper

The boys were outside playing and I was inside cleaning the house.  Braden comes yelling, "mom, mom come look at Landon!"  I'm thinking something has happened and he's stuck somewhere or fallen down, or something along those lines.  Then he comes in the door and I can see that he's been in the pool and his diaper is down to his knees.  Braden and Dalin couldn't stop laughing and poor Landon had no idea what the whole thing was about.  This picture doesn't do it justice.  The diaper was so full with water. 

I asked Landon to turn around and this is what I saw.  Look at that little bum!

We took off the diaper and it was so full you couldn't even fold it in half.  The boys thought it was the funniest thing in the whole world.

Those diapers have got serious absorbency.

Where's the baby? THERE HE IS!

Hmmm....what could this swimming pool be used for upsidedown?

How about a hideout?  Peek-a-boo mom!

But wait, there's not just one, but two little gigglers.

Braden and Landon get silly together and just giggle and giggle and giggle.

Just look at those happy faces having fun together.  What cute and silly little boys.

Current News

Well, as many of you know (at least the two people who may actually read my little blog) I quit my job working for JJS.  The schedule was all over the place and they would often, as in every single time, change it right before a shift and then I was left scrambling to find a babysitter.  Trust me no one wants to watch my kids at 6 in the morning or through dinner until 8 a night.  I was also being scheduled 30-40 hours some weeks when I specifically asked them to only schedule me once or twice a week.  It seemed like they could never get a shift covered which left me to do it.  I was tired, worn out, frustrated, and stressed out.  I really enjoy the work I do, although I can't talk about it at all on here, and was quite sad about having to quit.  I went back and forth on it for a couple of weeks, but then my babysitter forgot to pick Braden up from preschool and he was left there for two hours.  Let's just say he was a little bit traumatized and wouldn't even attend his church classes in primary for fear he would be left or forgotten.  My mommy instincts felt sooooo horribly guilty that I quit.  Last week the director of JJS called me and asked me to come back.  I was very hesitant, but she assured me I would only be scheduled on Friday and Saturday, the days Dan is off work so I agreed.  I had my first shift back last Friday and really enjoyed myself, knowing my kids were in their Daddy's hands.  The extra money is fantastic and I really do like the work I do, so here's to hoping this works out and they really only schedule me according to what they told me.

Family Fishing Trip To East Park

As I've said before I don't like fishing.  It's not fun for me even a little bit, but all my boys love it.  So I sometimes accompany them on their journeys and watch and just enjoy being outdoors.  This particular trip we headed up to East Park in the Uintas.  The boys had a blast.  It was windy and a little chilly, but that didn't stop us.

Here is Landon trying out the fishing pole.  Dan usually just ties a sinker to the end of his line so he can cast it and reel it, but he can't get hooked.

He loves to be part of the action.

Braden usually just likes to get wet, even if it's cold.  Cold doesn't bother him like it does with Dalin.  He's just a water lover.

Look at that dirty face.  Dalin is trying to get his line ready.  Dan does actually let Dalin have hooks.  So far he hasn't hooked himself and he's good about being really careful.  He's also caught several of his very own fish.

The only way I'll ever be in any of the pictures is to take one of myself.  Not the best, but it proves I was there.  Hehehe.

Dan surrounded by all his fishing buddies.

Landon will sometime brave the cold water.  He too loves to get wet.

Dalin working hard to catch a fish.  He got frustrated because he kept hooking this log that was stuck out in the middle of lake.  He likes to play in the water and get wet, but he does not like to be cold.  Notice his long pants?  He's like me and struggles when he's cold.

Braving the cold water.  Braden will fish for a while then he takes off into the water.  He just loves getting wet.

Here is a video of Braden fly fishing.  Sorry about the wind, nothing I can do about that.